The Hylian Invasion
by TriddKing
Summary: After a bizarre chain of events, Professor Birch finds himself travelling across a post-disaster Hoenn with his daughter and a strange, quiet young man.
1. Prologue 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Now that that's out of my way…**

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><p>Arceus was capable of all human emotions. When He created, He was euphoric. When His creations fell, He was disheartened. He felt pride and guilt, envy and contentment, avarice and charity, joy and anger.<p>

At that moment, however, anger wouldn't describe how He felt.

He was _furious_.

He had been challenged by an uppity mortal child to a duel. When He had anticipated a fair Pokémon to Pokémon battle, the little fiend threw a Master Ball; the same tool used to capture Arceus's precious creations, ironically; and now was being used as a beast of burden inside the sphere. He struggled against the confines of His prison, but the walls proved too strong for His powers. They were designed to hold Pokémon against all their efforts, after all.

Thanks to a slight telepathic link, Arceus tried to reason with the trainer, trick him, bribe him, and finally resorting to outright threatening him. The threats were perhaps what caused the trainer to grow a bit uneasy, and deposited Him into his PC, Box 7, and left Him there. And it was in the PC, Box 7, at 1:30 in the morning, that Arceus believed that His luck couldn't get any worse.

He was wrong.

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><p>The Alpha Pokémon cantered impatiently back and forth in Box 7. He had been reduced to data and code; to think He had once been god to these people. God! And yet here He was, presumably doomed to stay here to fade into nothingness.<p>

He turned around at the wall, (Box 7 was approximately 6 paces long by 5 paces wide, not a whole lot of room to walk about in) when He faced a woman who was not there before.

She was very beautiful by human standards; however, she didn't appear very human. Her skin gave off an unnatural golden glow; her eyes were shining and pure white; her hair was a startling shade of cobalt. Combined with the fact she had suddenly appeared in Box 7 without so much as a sound signaled that she was something else.

Arceus immediately snapped into a battle pose, head low and legs spread apart. _**You**_, He telepathically hissed.

The woman made no change in emotion. "Arceus Alphael," she said. "Many eons have passed since our last encounter."

_**Leave this place, witch**_, He said. _**This is **_**my**_** kingdom, and you are an intruder.**_

"Ah, but you are a fallen king. The crown-"

_**I have not fallen! **_He roared.

She continued, ignoring his outburst. "The crown is free for the taking." Her eyes blazed. "We offer you this one chance, Arceus. Step down or be destroyed."

Arceus stared at her in shock. How dare she threaten Him? Shock gave way to rage. How _dare _she threaten Him.

_**How dare you!**_ He bellowed, lunging forward. She nimbly leapt to one side, barely avoiding the Pokémon's horns and hooves. He crashed into the opposite wall of Box 7, but quickly shook it off as Heturned and faced her again.

He was infuriated. All moral qualms had left Him. He gave a furious cry that reverberated through the PC.

_**JUDGMENT!**_

Hundreds of bolts of raw power launched from the forehead of Arceus and converged to the point where the woman was standing. When they fused together, they blew apart in an explosion of light and fire. It was Judgment; Arceus's ultimate attack. When used in battle, no Pokémon survived against it.

And yet the woman stood, unfazed.

_**How?**_ He cried after a moment of stunned realization. _**How did you…**_

The woman sighed and flicked a strand of hair out of her face. "Firstly, I am not bound by your laws of reality. I wouldn't matter if you breathed fire, caused an earthquake, or summoned a tidal wave; I would still be unharmed.

"Secondly, you seem to have forgotten that you are nothing but data in this invention. An invention built through human knowledge, my own creation."

Arceus's tail flicked nervously as He took two steps back into the wall. _**You wouldn't-**_

The woman raised her hand and silenced Him. "Your attack has brought this upon you." She raised her other hand and raised both of them above her head.

_**Don't!**_

She brought her hands together with a clap.

He screeched in agony as Box 7 deteriorated around Him. _**Wh**_**a**_**t **_d_**id **__yo__**u do?**_

The woman made no change in expression as the artificial ground beneath her feet faded away. "I have commanded this machine to crash," she said. "And when it goes down, you shall fall along with it."

He tried to move, but His body had no strength left. _**/Th**_**hi**_**s **_c_**an:**__t b4e__**!**_

He felt a new sensation. His limbs had no feeling, and the numbness was stretching up to his body.

_**/NNO**_err_**o!#**_

At last, He slumped down like a wounded animal. His fading sight fell upon the woman.

In her hand was a sword, seemingly materializing out of nowhere. She held it high above her head, her blazing eyes glaring down at Arceus.

_****NnNnn**__nn404aaa#/#y…_

"Long live the queen," she whispered.

Down came the sword.

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><p>News flashed around the planet after the PC system crashed at approximately 1:30 in the morning. Hundreds of outraged trainers thronged at the doors of Pokémon Centers, furious at how their Pokémon had been destroyed.<p>

Unexpectedly, the PC came online again at noon, all the Pokémon miraculously restored.

All except the inhabitants a certain trainer's seventh box, that appeared to be at the brunt of the system failure.

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><p>"<em>I told you to not draw your sword. You were to simply let him dissolve away."<em>

"_It was a mercy killing. A concept which you are oblivious to, might I add."_

"…_Fine. Where is our third?"_

"_She's gone off to do her part."_

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	2. Prologue 2

**Oh Farore, sorry about the long wait between updates! Life over here has been completely nuts, and I completely forgot that I even had a fanfiction. I promise to update this more often (that should be my resolution…let me write that down).**

**Edit: Fixed a few typos, and changed around the wording a bit.**

**Okay, disclaimer: I still own nothing, but not for a lack of trying.**

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><p>During the one thousand years of Jirachi's slumber, its (his, her) mind drifted off to a private dreamland. It would wander through its memories, alone, waiting for a thousand years to pass. And this one thousand year holiday was going along just like any other for the first nine-hundred-and-ninety-eight years.<p>

On the nine-hundred-and-ninety-ninth year, however, something changed.

As Jirachi flew through a memory that took place two thousand years in the past, it saw the woman. She seemed young; her face was pointed away from the Wish Pokémon, showing a head of short green hair that glittered like a large emerald. She seemed oblivious to Jirachi, and stood, merely staring off into space.

Curious, the Pokémon hovered closer to inspect the woman. Her skin seemed to shine, which struck Jirachi as odd. What was even more odd was the fact Jirachi had never seen this woman before. What was she doing in the Pokémon's memories? Who was she?

The woman suddenly spiraled around to face Jirachi, who froze in midair at the sight of the woman's eyes. They were large and pure white, and shined with a light that frightened the Wish Pokémon. She wasn't even human! After a moment of shock, Jirachi turned and began to fly off-

"Wait," said the woman. Her voice was warm and alive, and made Jirachi stop. It turned its head towards the…woman, who smiled gently.

"I know I'm frightening. But please, come here little one."

Jirachi began to hover closer, but stopped again, eying the woman with curiosity. She laughed. "I won't hurt you. Come here."

The Pokémon remained where it floated. The woman held a hand to her mouth in thought, and then kneeled down to the ground.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, placing a hand onto the ground. When she lifted it, a tall tree sprang up from the ground, bursting with berries the size of a Koffing. Fear forgotten, Jirachi flew to the tree with only the slightest bit of apprehension to eat.

With its arms and mouth filled with berries, Jirachi hovered down to the woman's side, who also took a bite out of one of the fruits.

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><p>After many berries met their doom (though the tree stayed as full of fruit as it did before), the woman looked at Jirachi.<p>

"You were scared of me, weren't you?" she asked. Jirachi fervently nodded, knowing that it could trust the woman; if you met a supernatural being in your personal paradise that offered you fruit, wouldn't you?

The woman thought for a second, then asked "Because of who I am…or because you fear humans in general?" Jirachi made no reaction for a moment before holding up two fingers.

"You fear humans in general?" Jirachi nodded. "Because they're bigger than you, and stronger than you, and there are more of them than there are of you?" Again, Jirachi nodded.

The woman smiled. "Can I tell you something?" Jirachi nodded, leaning towards the woman in anticipation.

"It's not true."

Jirachi blinked. It thought on that sentence; why would it be true?

"Many Pokémon are much bigger than humans."

Jirachi nodded, warmth spreading throughout its body.

"All Pokémon are much stronger than humans."

Jirachi nodded, flying into the air.

"And there are many more Pokémon than there are humans!"

Jirachi nodded again, flying higher into the air, the words giving it courage to stand up to those humans.

"There's just one problem," the woman yelled. Jirachi stopped rising to look back down.

"No Pokémon aside from you knows that."

Jirachi fell from the sky like a one-winged Farfetch'd. It laid down on the ground like a forgotten Clefairy doll, and made no apparent effort to change its position.

"But…" The one word quickly captured the Pokémon's attention. It floated upright, and faced the woman with large, pleading eyes. But what? But what?

"But," she started again, "you could help me tell all the Pokémon this. I have my own wish for you; can you…"

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><p>The televisions across the world flashed the message of 'Breaking News.' Gabby Mari's face appeared, bearing a solemn, serious face, a stark contrast to her usual chirpy appearance.<p>

"This just in, Pokémon around the world are acting unnaturally. Species once recorded to be tame and docile have suddenly turned against mankind, attacking people not only when they step into tall grass, but whenever the person comes anywhere within what the Pokémon considers their territory, sometimes even entering large cities." The TV showed videos of Beedrills invading Vermillion City in a massive swarm, an Ursaring taking vicious swipes at police in Blackthorn City, and a particularly large Tentacruel attacking a ship off the coast of Sinnoh. Gabby's face returned. "Previously captured Pokémon are also seen exhibiting signs of rebellion. For example, a woman from Lilycove, who wishes to remain anonymous, was attacked by her own Mawile, who apparently bit her leg and arm. She is being treated for minor injuries; the Mawile has escaped and has yet to be found.

"In light of recent events, the Pokémon League, in operation across the world for over two hundred years, has been forced to close down until this event is rationalized. The Pokémon Mystery Society has requested for all trainers to cease all Pokémon-related activities, and to report any signs of Pokémon rebellion."

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><p>"<em>You turned the Pokémon into a star so that it could shine a message across the planet?"<em>

"_It worked, did it not?"_

"…_I will never understand you two. I will be back; I am going to do my part. My way."_

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	3. Prologue 3

**I promise that this is the final prologue.**

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><p><em>Dawn of the first day<em>

People across Hoenn uneasily attempted to carry out their regular lives. However, no attacks had been reported yet; a fact that only put them all on edge even more.

Unseen to all on the ground, Rayquaza looked towards the skies, flying around in agitation. Something was…off. And the Sky High Pokémon sensed it and _hated_ it. Something was controlling the winds; something else was in the air.

Something _big_.

Finally, at around 1:30, it flew down to Sky Pillar, where it coiled itself into a ring, its eyes still glued to the sky.

_Night of the first day_

The peace across Hoenn was disturbed just after midnight. Roars and screams filled the night air, leaving people paralyzed in fear of a massive attack. Those who were brave enough to look out their windows saw the fleeing silhouettes of Ghost and Dragon Pokémon, confused, flying in all directions, and screaming all the way. In Mossdeep City, all of the Psychic Pokémon still faithful to their trainers teleported away, leaving the building as abandoned as a tomb.

By dawn, not a single Dragon, Ghost, or Psychic could be seen across Hoenn.

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><p><em>Dawn of the second day<em>

A young boy from Rustboro ignored the warnings of his mother, and wandered into the nearby forest when she had left for work. He gleefully leapt over fallen logs and stones, ignorant of the danger of Pokémon until he tripped over a tree root.

He looked up from where he tripped, only to be faced with a large Swellow, who glared down at him. The boy froze in fear at the sight of the Flying Pokémon's sharp-looking claws and beak.

Unable to run due to his twisted foot, tears ran down his cheeks in fear of the attack…that never came.

The Swellow simply stood there, his stoic red eyes peering into the boy. Finally, it flew off, along with all other Bug and Flying Pokémon in the forests and the islands.

With that, five types of Pokémon had disappeared off the face of Hoenn within the span of 24 hours.

_Night of the second day_

A lone Absol was spotted in the center of Fortree. It did not attack; it merely stared at all the residents who gathered in the bridges and treetops above it, prepared to fight back if it went offensive.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the Absol got up, stretched, gave a dutiful nod to those gathered, and scarpered off into the forest, where it, along with all other Dark Pokémon in Hoenn, mysteriously vanished.

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><p><em>Dawn of the third day<em>

The remaining eleven types of Pokémon went berserk. All the Fire types plunged themselves into the depths of Mt Chimney. The Ground, Steel and Rock Pokémon barricaded themselves underground. Grass Pokémon seemed to lose all will to live, and all seemed to wilt. Water Pokémon dove into the streams and oceans across Hoenn, while Ice types skated across the surface of the water to some unknown destination. The Electric Pokémon followed the example of the Grass types, and could barely summon so much as a spark. The only ones who did not take leave or lose will to live were the Fighting, Normal, and Poison types, who were nonetheless irritated and edgy, viciously attacking anything that came within a foot radius of them.

Even the humans seemed perturbed, glancing to the sky with shifty eyes. Something felt very, _very_ off. Like a combination of when the hair on the back of your neck rises with the feeling of impending doom. What in Arceus's name was going on?

_Night of the third day_

_Eleven o'clock_

The night sky came to life. What once was blackness burst out with red, blue and green. These lights danced and spiraled in the night sky, gaining shock and awe from those on the ground. They were beautiful; like giant, flying Milotics in the sky.

Under the glow of this bizarre phenomenon, the people felt at peace and ease. But then, as clocktowers chimed down to midnight, the lights trailed off towards the center of the mainland, over Mt Chimney. With that, they stopped, hovered for a moment, before shooting themselves into the volcano like a plethora of multicolored arrows.

The effect was instantaneous; the volcano, active for all these years, erupted, though exploded would have been a better word. A column of fire, molten stone, and the skeletal remains of Pokémon flew straight out the top before exploding again in midair like a firework. The shockwave travelled all the way to Ever Grande Island. Lavaridge was decimated instantaneously, while most of the nearby desert was transformed into glass. Fortree was leveled to the ground, while Mauville's impressive glass skyscrapers and power systems shattered and fell.

And a middle-aged man known as Norman, who was driving home when the explosion happened, ran over a young man dressed in green.


	4. Chapter 1

**All right, first chapter! Thanks to everyone who kept reading through the three prologues! And if you did, thanks for sending in your reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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><p>Norman was not having a good day. Granted, he told himself, he had worse, but…no, wait, this <em>was<em> the worst. In the course of one day, his gym closed down, his Pokémon turned violent and were taken by some fancy society, his car was broken into, and he was late, again, coming home. Things couldn't possibly get worse.

And then the explosion happened.

Something about a big, fiery, multicolored explosion behind you grabs your attention rather quickly. After he saw it in his rear view mirror, he twisted around while still driving forward to see it in greater detail. While twisted backwards, his car collided with something that gave a muffled thud and a yelp of pain. He turned around again fast enough to give him whiplash and slammed on the brakes. "Oh Arceus," he muttered as he opened the car door, "whatever it is, don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead..." He got out of the car, expecting to see a mangled Zigzagoon, or a Poochyena.

What he saw, however, was not a Pokémon at all. Behind the front wheels of the car was the surprisingly intact form of a human being. Norman cursed. This was worse. He probably killed this kid. _Now_ things couldn't possibly get worse.

Just then, a shockwave lifted Norman off of the asphalt. He made contact with it again, and skidded along the road for about fifteen feet, bouncing and rolling all the way. The car was shown no mercy, and was chucked into the air, rolled along the ground, and burst into flames. Norman lied down on the asphalt in shock, pain finally telling him that he had twisted several limbs, some bones were broken, and his skin was peppered with asphalt and gravel. The only thing unaffected by the blast was the kid, who was still lying down in the same position that Norman had found him in.

He sighed. He really should stop saying that things couldn't possibly get worse.

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><p>"I'm sure he's fine, Nora."<p>

Nora Yuki sniffed as Richard Birch tended to her injured leg. "I know, Richard. It's just…" she took an unsteady breath, "…It's just that you never know. And I never do! And you know I can't be alone…not since the…" She was quiet as she bit back tears. Richard leaned in to comfort her, but she dismissed him, waving her hand. "No, no…I'm fine. Anyways, after Brendan left, Norman is all I have left for company, so whenever he goes missing like this, late, I…and the explosion! What was that?"

Richard shrugged. "I don't know. Personally, I've never visited Mt Chimney, and I know literally nothing about geology. What I do know is that that was no ordinary explosion."

The shockwave had done its toll on Littleroot Town, but nowhere near as serious as the damage to cities closer to the volcano. Trees were knocked over, cars were damaged, windows were smashed, and small fires had started which the Oldale Fire Department was quick to extinguish. The only injuries were from people who had gone outside or were standing near their windows at the time of the explosion, as Nora did, got knocked over, and twisted her leg. If her neighbor hadn't have come over to check on her, she would've still been on the floor in pain.

She took a deep breath and gave a brave smile. "So…how are Wendy and May?"

It was a poor attempt to change the subject, but Richard let it pass. She needed to talk. "They're fine," he said. "May wasn't anywhere near the windows when it happened, and Wendy was already asleep, so they're both okay."

Nora was about to reply when there was a knock at the door. She started to get up to answer it, but Richard told her to sit down, and that "You won't be going anywhere far with that leg." He got up and walked to the door, opened it, and in fell the bruised and battered form of Norman.

"Norman!" Richard yelled, crouching down to help his old friend. He helped him to his feet and looked him over. "Arceus, man, what happened to you? You look like a pack of Arons used you as a chew toy!"

"It's nice to see you too, Birch." Norman chuckled and bent over to spit blood onto the floor. He turned around and started to limp back out the door, yelling "Can you give me a hand with this?"

"What's 'this'?" Richard asked as he followed. Norman didn't answer, but instead reached down for the 'this', and started to drag the 'this' back to the house. Birch squinted and recognized the 'this' almost instantly.

"Don't drag him!" Richard yelled, picking up the other side of the body.

Norman shrugged. "Why shouldn't I? I've been doing it most of the way here."

Richard gave him a terrified look. "Most of the way here? Norman…where's your car?" he asked, noticing the mysterious lack of a motor vehicle.

"In a smoldering fireball off the side of Route 101," Norman replied, giving a sheepish grin.

An awkward silence passed between the two friends. "A smoldering fireball?" Richard asked.

"Yep."

"Route 101?"

"Yep."

"You _dragged_ him _all_ the way?"

"Not _all _the way."

"No?"

"No. I carried him for a while."

"_Legends-damned, Norman!_" Richard shouted, nearly dropping his side of the body. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

"I checked his pulse," Norman muttered. "He's still fine-"

"Firstly, I meant that it's dangerous for you. You're torn to shit, and I feel obligated to remind you that you're not twenty anymore. Secondly, having a pulse is only one good sign; he could be in a coma for all we know. Fourthly-"

"You mean thirdly, and I ran over him with the car."

"Fine. Thirdly, you…WHAT?"

"NORMAN YUKI!"

Nora had managed to work her way over to the door, propping herself up with furniture. Norman gave her a grin. "Honey, I'm home."

She slapped him across his face, scattering pieces of asphalt onto the floor. "Where have you been?" she screamed, her eyes and face positively red. "I've been at home, alone, you're late, there was the explosion and I didn't know and-" with that, she choked up a sob, and wrapped him in a tight embrace, crying into his shirt.

Norman whimpered and muttered "My skin's filled with asphalt, honey." But he smiled and laid his head on hers, in an awkward one-sided hug.

Richard was feeling incredibly awkward. He cleared his throat to get their attention and said "I'd hate to break this moment up right now, but, um…this?" He raised his half of the body in case the two of them forgot what 'this' meant. Norman nodded, and the two of them carried the body into the house and onto the table. Nora lit several candles as the power was still out, and Birch put on his glasses and leaned in closer to inspect who 'this' was.

"Check his airways."

"Check his what?"

Richard gave Norman a glance over the rims of his glasses. "Check if he's breathing."

"Oh." Norman ran off and came back with a mirror which he placed under the nose of the body. "Yeah, he's good."

"Okay," and Richard thought back to his very rudimentary first-aid training. "Turn him over on his side."

"What if he has a spinal injury?" Nora asked. "If he does, we can't because it'll do further damage to his spine, and may stop his breathing."

Both Richard and Norman turned to look at her. "You know first aid?" Norman asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I had a life before I met you, Norman."

"Oh, so you don't now?"

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"So how did you-"

"_Would you two please stop it?_" Richard barked. He turned towards Nora and said "If Norman dragged him all the way here, and he's still breathing, I think his spine is alright."

Nora turned towards her husband. "You _dragged_ him here?"

"One second, honey, I'm helping the good doctor right now," Norman replied, eager to not repeat the tirade of questions. The two men turned the body on its side.

"Okay, now all we can do now is keep him warm and hope that…" Richard's voice trailed off.

"…and hope that…?" Nora began, hoping to get Richard back on track. Richard, however, was more interested in something that the body was wearing at the moment. He groped along its back until he found the object of interest and pulled. In his hand was the hilt of a sword. The weapon glittered magnificently in the candlelight, reflecting the faces of the three gathered.

"Oh my Arceus," Richard muttered.

"It's beautiful," Nora whispered.

"Who _is_ this kid?" Norman asked.

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><p><strong>Review, my readers! Review! Mwahaha!<strong>

**...*ahem* Sorry.**


	5. Chapter 2

**I still own nothing. It's kinda depressing, really.**

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><p><em>Dawn of a new day<em>

Somewhere in Littleroot Town, May Birch woke up on the couch. She had fallen asleep there while she was waiting for her father to get home, which he never did. She sat up and stretched. Maybe he came home while she was asleep? She stood up and went upstairs to her parent's bedroom to check.

He wasn't in there, either. Alone in the bed was Wendy Birch, curled in the fetal position under the sheets. May sighed. Where was he? Could he still…no, that's ridiculous. But…why would he still be at the Yuki's house? She started to walk back downstairs to think up reasons.

Her mind started playing multiple possibilities, each one worse than the last. Maybe Norman died in the explosion and her father stayed behind to comfort Nora? Or…her father started to come home but was attacked by a pack of Poochyena? Those Pokémon hated her father for some reason, so it was possible. But what if a flying sign, propelled by the explosion, hit her father in the head, detached it from his shoulders, and sent it flying through the air and into a Zigzagoon hole?

She stopped walking down the stairs for a moment to evaluate this last option. No, no, too ridiculous. But she decided on one thing. She was going to go over to her neighbor's house and find what happened to her father. She took a piece of paper from the kitchen and wrote _Going 2 neighbors' 2 find dad. B back soon: May._ She left the note on her mother's nightstand, put on some warmer clothes and walked outside.

The sunlight revealed in greater detail the extent of damage to Littleroot, and to be fair, it wasn't that bad. The homes of her friends and neighbors were still intact, if a little scorched and battered, some of the trees that Littleroot was famous for were still standing, and her father's laboratory, the only real landmark in the town, was completely intact. But things were still bad; due to the fires, most of the grass was black and burnt, a few cars laid in the streets upside-down, and most of the famous trees were uprooted, their leaves reduced to ashes. After taking one long, good look at the depressing little view, May sighed and walked into the Yuki household.

Nobody greeted her at the door but absolute disorder. Candles and wax were littered around the entrance room, and only gathered in frequency the further she got in; along with…what was that? She leaned in closer to examine the second substance, her eyes widening in shock when she recognized it as blood. A lot of blood. Two trails of blood, in fact; one led up the stairs, and was also littered with tiny black rocks and gravel. The other…she followed it into the living room and found it led to under a humanoid figure under her father's old white coat. She smiled as it rose up and down. He was breathing. He was alive.

He was asleep. She walked up closer and leaned her face above what looked like his head.

"Hey," she whispered. He made no change in position. "_Hey_," she said a little louder. He rolled over under the coat. "_Hey! Wake up_!" she whispered as loudly as she could.

This time he did react, but only to roll over again, tighten the coat over him and mutter what sounded like "G'way, Navi…" before becoming quiet again. May frowned and pulled the coat off of him. "C'mon, Dad, it's time to-" she began to say before stopping in mid-sentence. Whoever this was, he was not her father. This was a young man, maybe seventeen or eighteen years old. He was fit and thin, unlike her father, who, over the last few years, had developed a bit of a paunch. She carefully leaned in and flicked his blonde hair away, revealing a rather handsome face. Who was this? She leaned in further to investigate when his eyes snapped open.

May yelped in surprise, jumped backwards, tripped over a footstool, and tried to grab a nearby end table for support. However, all this resulted in was the end table to fall on top of her, all of its articles flying into the air and falling with a loud crash. As her face grew hot, she shoved off the end table and started to push herself back onto her feet, ignoring the pain in her abdomen where the piece of furniture had fallen.

As she pushed herself back up, three adults rushed down the stairs to see what the noise was. Looking around, May identified them as her father and the Yukis. "Great," she groaned. "An audience."

Her father rushed over to her side and propped her back up onto her feet. May then finally got a good look at the man; he was fairly tall, thin and a bit lanky, but fit. What really grabbed her attention, however, was his clothes; a green tunic and pointed hat, torn and peppered with the tiny black rocks; khaki-colored pants…or were they tights?...and a pair of leather boots with gold buckles.

Richard noticed him too and laughed. "Well, the patient awakens!" He walked away from May's side to examine the young man. "How are you feeling?"

The young man didn't reply, and instead stared at Richard like he had just spoken in Hindu. Richard looked into his face. "Can't you talk?"

"Yes, sir." His speech was quiet and slow, as though he learned it phonetically. Richard smiled at him. "That's better. Do you have a name?"

"Link." That was it; just Link. No surname or anything else; just Link.

Richard looked at Norman and Nora. "Do you have live here in Littleroot, Link?"

Link shook his head, no. He had a look in his eyes that he didn't even know what a Littleroot was. Richard didn't blame him. Half of the people that came to Littleroot were just those who got lost on their way to Oldale. He smiled.

"How about coming home for dinner, Link?"

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><p>Link wolfed down the salad that Wendy had prepared. With no oven and no stove, the most that the dinner consisted of was a simple salad, but nobody complained, especially Link, who hadn't said much after revealing his name. He only spoke when spoken to, and communicated mostly through body language and one-word responses.<p>

Richard tried to get information out of him, but it was like trying to nail a Ditto onto the wall, always slipping out of the subject and giving him no progress. The conversation went like this:

"Your name is Link, right?" asked Richard.

Link nodded.

"Odd name, isn't it?"

Link shrugged and went back to his salad.

"Where are you from?"

"Out of town."

"What are you doing in Littleroot?"

Link shrugged again.

This went on for several minutes until Richard sat back and looked around at the others for help. They got the hint and began to ask questions of their own, none of which allowed any more progress that Richard had made.

"How old are you?" (Norman)

"Seventeen."

"Where'd you get those clothes?" (Nora)

"Home."

"How's the salad?" (Wendy)

"Good."

"Do you have a girlfriend?" (May)

"May!" (Richard and Wendy)

"What? It's a legitimate question!" (May)

Richard gave her a quick 'you-watch-it' look, and turned back to Link. "Where are your parents?"

Link stopped shoveling in the salad and stared down at the plate, twiddling with the fork. Richard raised an eyebrow but said nothing, and the rest of the group wisely followed his actions. Finally, Link spoke and broke the silence. "My parents are dead."

Richard sighed. "I'm sorry."

"I never knew my father. My mother…she died when I was young, so I don't remember her."

Richard sighed again and cast his eyes down at his plate, suddenly losing his appetite. The group gave a reverent silence at this new information, only to be broken by May. "But," she said slowly, "if your parents…passed away, how did you grow up?"

Link didn't look up, but gave a quick smile of nostalgia and spoke again. "I grew up with other children my age. We played in the forest, or farms, or wherever else we could cause mayhem." He chuckled and stared into space, lost in some happy memory. His smile faded slightly as he continued, much to Richard's surprise. This kid was talking more now than he did throughout the rest of the evening.

"I had to grow up. The old…man that used to take care of us was killed, and so I went off to find out who had killed him." Link then resumed eating as if to say that the story was over. Far from satisfied, the rest of the group leaned in on the edge of their seats towards him. He just kept eating the salad, oblivious to the attention, until Nora asked "Well…?"

Link looked up. "Well what?"

"What happened next? Did you find the guy? What happened?"

"Oh." He put down his fork as he thought back and finally came up with a response. "I…technically…found him," he said unsurely, and resumed eating.

Richard sighed, stood up and walked toward the entrance to the kitchen, beckoning the other adults to follow him. The four gathered in a circle and spoke in hushed tones to each other.

"Tauros-shit," muttered Norman.

"Norman!" hissed Nora, clearly disapproving of his negative nature.

"Don't tell me you believe in that whole tale-of-vengeance thing? That's only found in fairytales and legends."

"Okay…granted," whispered Nora, "that last bit is a bit…unlikely. But everything up to it is definitely believable. I mean, did you see his face when he was talking about his childhood?"

"It's a sob-story for us to take pity on him!" murmured Norman.

"Must you take everything negatively?"

"Why do you have to-"

"How are you two even married?" Richard asked. "You can't start up a conversation without going at each other's throats!"

This sobered the conversation. Norman sighed. "Okay…at the very least, ask him about the sword."

While the four adults huddled in a circle, May was still sitting at the table with Link. She cleared her throat and said "You never answered my question, you know."

Link looked at her and shifted uncomfortably. "…What was your question again?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked.

He was quiet for a minute. "What do you mean by…girlfriend?"

May gave him a look that said 'did you fall from the moon or something?' "You know," she said, "a girlfriend. A girl you can go on dates with, someone you can hold hands with, you know."

Link clasped his hands together and looked into space. He was agonizingly quiet again, a trait of his that drove May up the wall. Finally he answered: "No."

May bit her lip and asked her next question. "Well…you aren't…are you…and if you are, that's okay, I mean, nothing's wrong with that," she nervously chuckled. "Anyways, you aren't…um…" she stalled, hoping for Link to finish for her. When he didn't (and instead looked more confused than ever), she said, "Are you…gay?"

"No…?" he responded, looking severely baffled.

Fortunately, to save her from further embarrassment, the four adults came back from their huddle and sat around the table again. Nora, who had apparently been eavesdropping on the two's conversation, gave a smile and a wink to May, whose face felt even warmer than it did after the end table incident.

Richard turned towards Link. "Alright, Link, just answer the next question, and I'll stop hounding you for the rest of the evening."

"But you have to answer with at least one full sentence," said Norman.

"Right. So, Link…why are you carrying around a sword?"

"Because life is dangerous without one," Link replied. He reached for it behind his back as though to demonstrate it, but a look of shock passed across his face instead. "Where is my sword?"

Richard ignored the question and kept speaking in his best firm-but-gentle voice he had. "You must understand that actual weapons have been illegal ever since-"

"_Where is my sword?_" Link asked again, a dangerous edge beginning to rise in his voice.

"Well…" Richard began to squirm in his seat. "While you were unconscious…"

Link stood up and glared Richard dead in the eye. "Where-is-my-_sword_?"

"Sit down." Everyone turned towards Norman. He had stood up at the other side of the table in Richard's defense, glaring at Link.

The two tried to stare each other down over the table, neither one clearly giving in. Neither one was very intimidating alone; when trying to intimidate the other, however, they looked like two Luxrays fighting over a piece of meat. The tension was building; the two looked as though they were about to fight it out when…

There was a knock at the door. Caught off guard by the abrupt change in tension, the two spiraled towards the door, tripped over their own chairs, hit the floor, and were knocked out cold.

"Idiots," Nora muttered.

Chuckling in spite of himself, Richard got up and opened the door. Behind the door were two men dressed in black suits.

"Professor Richard Birch?" asked one.

"Yes?"

"Head scientist of the Hoenn Institute of Pokémon Research?" asked the other.

"…Yes?"

"Can you come with us, sir?" both of them asked at the same time.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	6. Chapter 3

"So how can I be of help to you, mister…?"

"My name is Mr. Ken," introduced one of the two, taking the tea that Richard had offered. "This," he continued, gesturing towards the other, "is Miss Mary."

Richard spat up the tea he had just sipped. "I'm sorry," he coughed, "but _Miss_ Mary?"

"Yes sir," said Miss Mary. "Did you have reason to think otherwise?"

Feeling remarkably stupid, Richard said, "To be honest, it's not that often you see a woman in a suit these days."

She gave him a dangerous glare. "So it would be better if I constantly wore a short skirt and showed my midriff?"

"No," he said. "I mean, it wouldn't be bad, per se, but it…I mean that it's perfectly…what I'm trying to say is…"

"Is this your lab, professor?" said Mr. Ken, saving Richard from further floundering. He drew a finger along the top of one of the computers and examined the dust on the edge of his finger. "It doesn't seem particularly used."

"I know, I know," Richard chuckled. "I'm more of a field-work guy. I could never stay put in a lab."

Mr. Ken faced Richard with still no emotion in his face. "Hence why you dropped out of Blackthorn University when you were twenty-three?" he asked.

Richard stared at him with surprise. "How did you know that?"

"We have our methods, professor. Now, to get right to the point-"

"Now wait a minute," the professor interrupted, "who are you? I never even told Wendy that I dropped out of university! Who are you? Government? If you are, I'm telling you right now-"

"Please calm down, professor. We assure you that we did not come here under orders of the Hoenn government," said Miss Mary.

Richard's eyes narrowed. "Johtoan government, then?"

Mr. Ken rolled his eyes. "No."

"Kantonese?"

"No."

"Unovan!"

"No!"

Richard sighed and sat back in his lab chair. "Fine. To bring it back to the beginning, who are you?"

"We were about to tell you, sir," spat Miss Mary as the two of them sat down as well, "that we represent the Pokémon Mystery Society."

The professor blinked. "The…PMS?" He began to laugh, and turned it into a cough when he saw that the two of them weren't joining with him. "Never heard of it."

"We don't blame you, professor," said Mr. Ken as Miss Mary opened her briefcase and searched through its contents. "The society was recently renamed, but even before the renaming, we were an obscure group. That was, of course, before our newest benefactor came along and took the helm of the Pokémon Mystery Society, turning it into a well-funded organization."

Richard felt doubtful of their story, but listened without protest as Mr. Ken continued. "Our purpose is to research and document Pokémon-related phenomena, such as legendary-sightings, possible new species of Pokémon…"

"And the recent 'Pokémon rebellion'?" finished Richard, making air quotes.

Miss Mary looked up from her briefcase. "You have your own opinion on the recent erratic behavior, I can presume?"

"There is no 'rebellion'," Richard said, "and the Pokémon's behavior is not 'erratic'. This sort of thing has happened many-"

"We will not deny that we have studied the recent…behavior, professor," Mr. Ken interrupted as Miss Mary handed him a book and a piece of paper from the briefcase. "However, we have come here for a different reason."

"This explosion that occurred yesterday, at midnight, is what we have come to question you about, professor," said Miss Mary.

Richard rolled his eyes. "I'm a biologist," he said. "You should really be seeking out a geologist…Roxanne from Rustboro City, maybe. I used to know her, she could really-"

"We have contacted all professors of this field of the region, professor," Mr. Ken interrupted again ("And I didn't even finish my sentence...again," Richard muttered). "However, the common consensus between them is that this explosion goes far beyond what they are accustomed to."

"So how would a biologist-"

"Naturally, we investigated such events further ("I'm not even here, am I?" Richard asked) and found this," and Mr. Ken dropped the book onto Richard's lap with a musty _thump_. He picked it up and read the fading cover.

"_The Encyclopedia of Legendary Pokémon_?" Richard asked incredulously. "How many times do I have to say that I'm a biologist? Call what's-her-name from Sinnoh…Cynthia."

"I'm afraid that the people of Sinnoh are facing their own difficulties at the moment, professor."

Richard frowned. "What do you mean?"

Mr. Ken sat back in his chair. "We don't know, professor. All attempts to communicate with other nearby regions have failed. On the odd occasion, we pick up a message from one of the other regions requesting assistance, but whenever we answer, there's no response."

"We're marooned, if you will," said Miss Mary. "All of Hoenn is marooned from the rest of the world, and we need your help, professor."

Richard looked at her, to Mr. Ken, and back at the book. Then he cleared his throat. "What can I do?"

Mr. Ken straightened up, apparently pleased at winning the debate. "Well, professor," he said. "Have you ever heard of the legend of Groudon?"

"Of course," Richard replied, surprised at his own certainty. "An old Hoenn folk tale about two fighting Pokémon, one called Kyogre, or something, with control of the water, and the other, Groudon, with…control of…the…"

He could see where this was going. "You can't be serious."

Mr. Ken raised a hand to preemptively halt Richard's protest. "You must admit, professor, that every story has a grain of truth."

"Yes, and if you pull a Ninetales' tail, you turn into a Pokémon," Richard replied sarcastically. He paused and muttered, "Sorry, it's been a long couple of days."

"Understood, professor," said Mr. Ken. "Now then…where was I?"

"Groudon," said Miss Mary.

"Right. Even up until recent day, many people not only remember this old legend, but revere it as a historical fact, particularly the Team Magma cult from two years ago, but I digress. And, when Kyogre was actually found and captured-"

There was a crash as Richard fell off of his chair. He didn't bother to try and get back up and instead stared at the two. "What?" he asked after he snapped back into reality. "Kyogre? Are you serious?"

The two gave each other a look of confusion. Finally Mr. Ken slowly said, "Yes…tests were performed to determine the Pokémon's age and powers, and found that they match the characteristics of the old legend…you weren't informed of this…?"

"No!" Richard said with uncharacteristic glee. "This changes everything we know about Pokémon! What if other legends are actual historical events? How many legendary Pokémon are there? Tell me," and he leaned in uncomfortably close to the two, "who found it?"

Miss Mary looked incredibly confused. "Brendan Yuki," she finally replied.

Richard blinked. "I'm sorry, who?"

"Brendan Yuki," she repeated. "You gave him his first Pokémon and his Pokédex…he was to show you the progress of his findings over time." She frowned as she continued. "He…never told you about Kyogre?"

The grin on Richard's face almost instantly faded. No…Brendan never did tell him about Kyogre. In fact, the only time that he had seen Brendan was when he was named champion, and that was…what, three years ago? Was it really that long ago?

"Professor?" Mr. Ken asked, summoning Richard back into reality.

"Yes?" Richard asked as he got back onto his chair.

"He never told you something of this magnitude?"

Richard shrugged. "No...I guess that he felt that this was something he wanted to keep to himself rather than report to any board of science…" He smiled. "Sort of like how you take a Pokémon home but don't tell your parents about it because they'd never let you keep it." Then he realized something, and asked "How did you learn about this?"

"We have our methods, professor," Miss Mary said.

Richard rolled his eyes. "Okay, never mind. What exactly do you want me to do?"

Mr. Ken took a piece of paper out from his suit. "Well, professor, are you available to go on a short field study for the next couple days?" he asked as he handed it over.

Richard took the paper and unfolded it. On the inside was a hastily drawn map of Hoenn with one area circled with red pen. Written in the same red ink were a date and two words: _Mt. Chimney_.

* * *

><p>Richard walked home, rubbing his temples to soothe the new income of information. Groudon could be what caused the explosion? It seemed a little unlikely, but who knows. Maybe that Team Magma cult was onto something that other people just didn't realize.<p>

Before he stepped into the house, he thought of what they asked him to do. Go to Mt. Chimney. On one hand, it was actually fairly exciting. It would be nice to actually go out into the field again. He really hadn't ever since he sent out Brendan and May on their Pokémon journey (why didn't Brendan tell him about Kyogre? That question still bothered him), and so to do it again would be a nice breath of familiar air. On the other hand, it was to a _recently-exploded volcano_. That balanced out the pros and cons of the trip quickly.

Richard sighed. They had given him until the morning to decide. Right now, he wanted to just lie down and get some well-deserved sleep…

…Which would apparently have to wait. As soon as he grabbed the doorknob, there was a sound of shattering glass from above him. He instinctively ducked and covered his neck, and almost didn't notice someone leaping off of the roof and onto the ground. The fall didn't slow the person down, and it got onto its feet and ran off.

Richard watched the person run off and groaned. It was definitely Link. And despite all of the kid's oddities, mannerisms, and bizarre level of attachment to his sword, Richard was worried about him. He was definitely going to run into trouble, one way or another. "Much safer here than it is out there," Richard muttered.

And then he was tackled from behind. He and his assailant rolled along the ground, ultimately resulting in Richard being pinned the ground, one of his arms painfully held behind his back.

He managed to turn his head and recognized the attacker. He frowned and spat out some grass he had eaten during the fight. "Norman! It's me!"

The pressure on his arm released. "Oh," said Norman. "Hello, Richard, how are you?"

"_Would you get off me_?" he hissed. Norman obliged, and Richard slowly pushed himself off the ground. He finally managed to get into a sitting position, and glared at Norman with a sour look. "I think it would have been easier to tell the difference between me and Link," he grumbled.

The sheepish look on Norman's face was quickly replaced with one of grim determination. "You saw him run off?" Norman grabbed him by the shoulders and stared him dead in the eye. "Which way did he go, Richard?"

Richard shoved him off and stood up. "Leave him be, Norman," he said as he started to limp back to the house. Norman stared after him before rushing up to his side.

"_Leave him be?_" he asked in disbelief. "Norman…that kid…he's…he's nuts! He's mentally ill! You expect me to just-"

"That's exactly what I expect you to do," Richard interrupted, knowing exactly what Norman was about to say next. "That kid has survived long enough on his own, and if he wants to, he can keep doing just that." He chuckled. "Besides, without his sword, he can't do any real damage."

He turned to Norman. "I mean, without it, he's…" His voice began to falter as he recognized the look on Norman's face. The furrowed brow, the averted gaze, and the protective body language. Norman had that look many times before; the look of defeat. And in context, that meant only one thing.

Richard stopped walking and pinched the bridge of his nose. "He found the sword, didn't he?"

"It's not my fault!" Norman yelled. "_You _should have hidden it better!"

Richard's jaw dropped. "_Me_? You were the one who was supposed to hide it!"

"No, _you_ were!"

There was an ugly pause; then Richard asked, "You mean it was in the living room the whole time?"

"Probably right under the table where we put him," Norman said.

The two friends looked at each other for a moment, and the absurdity of the situation finally sank in. Then Norman began to chuckle; Richard did the same, and raised it to a laugh. Always the competitive sort, Norman started to laugh louder. Soon, both friends were leaning on each other for support, hooting and snorting like a pair of drunks. They managed their way into the house, leaving the rest of Littleroot to wonder who in their right minds would be laughing at this hour.

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><p><strong>Eh, shorter chapter, but what the heck. Read and review!<strong>


	7. Chapter 4

**First, an explanation: this is a very short chapter (from a very long wait) for a reason. This was originally about twice as long, but, after some advice and a few rewrites, half of this chapter will be in the next chapter. This will not make many of you happy with me…but just give me this one chapter and I'll make it up to you, I swear.**

**Do I still have to say it? You guys know I own nothing.**

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><p>It was late at night – two in the morning, if Richard's nigh-dead PokéTech was anything to go by – before Norman and Nora went home and the Birch family went to bed. Still awake, Richard looked out into the darkness and thought on the recent events. An explosion totaled most of Hoenn, but his family and neighbors were okay. They had no electricity, but they still had food and bottled water. Link had disappeared with the sword, but nobody had got hurt, and Link was back on his own. All in all, Richard should've been grateful, even happy with how things were turning out.<p>

But what the PMS had said was now making him uneasy.

"Wendy?" he asked.

There was a shuffling sound beside him. "Hmm?" she replied sleepily.

He paused, not sure how to say the next part. Then he said, "Did I ever tell you I never graduated university?"

There was a long pause. Then there was a shuffling sound again, indicating that Wendy was sitting up. "You…what?"

"I never graduated university," he repeated. "I could never wrap my head around studying in the lab, and so I dropped out."

"But if that's true, then…how could you be in the HIPR?"

He shrugged. "I dunno…dumb luck, I guess. There was something about a Poochyena or something, but I was so happy I got in I wasn't really listening."

There was another long silence. Finally, Wendy asked, "Wh…why do you bring this up?" Before Richard could respond, she added, "Does this have something to do with those two who came to the door?"

Richard sighed. "Yes…partially."

Suddenly, the bedside lamp flickered to life. The two of them stared at in shock. "Legends damned," Richard whispered. "The electricity's back!"

"Don't change the subject, Richard." He looked over to Wendy, her face twisted into a look of confusion. "Who were they?"

He sat up so the two of them could talk to each other eye-to-eye. "They called themselves the Pokémon Mystery Society."

Wendy made a poor attempt to repress a smile. "They do realize what their acronym would be, right?" They both chuckled before she continued. "Who is the…Pokémon Mystery Society?"

"Well, they said they didn't come from the government," Richard said, shrugging, "but that that makes no sense. They knew things that they couldn't know if they weren't from some government organization, like where I worked, rare Pokémon that had been captured recently, and-"

"And that you didn't graduate from university," Wendy finished.

"Yeah, that too," Richard sighed. He bit his lip. "Are you upset that I never did? Graduate, that is?"

"What?" she asked. "No, no, of course not…maybe a bit…" She struggled for a word. "…disappointed that you didn't tell me, but not upset."

Richard nodded. "I didn't want you to think any less of me. I thought that you'd think of me as just some lucky twit."

Wendy smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "Yes, you're a twit. You are one very…_very_ lucky twit. But do you know something, Rich?"

He smiled back. "I'm your twit?"

"Mm-hmm," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. The happy moment went on for some time until Richard remembered why he brought this up.

"There's something else," he said.

She looked up. "What is it?"

"They wanted me to…" he started, fumbling for a moment to think how to say the next part gently, before resorting to simply blurting out, "They want me to go up to Mt. Chimney."

She sat back and looked into his eyes. "They what?"she asked.

"They want me to go and do research about the Mt. Chimney explosion," he explained. "Apparently – their words, not mine – it could be related to an ancient, undiscovered Pokémon, and with my best work being in field research, they thought I was the best candidate." After he finished, he sat back to decipher her reaction.

She didn't say anything, but instead gave him a look that asked 'And…?'

"Well…this could represent everything I got into biology in the first place. I always wanted to uncover something that nobody else has…but…"

'But…?' asked Wendy's expression.

"But…after what's happened…I don't want to leave you and May! I don't! What if something happens? I can't just leave you here and…" he faltered as his wife gave a wry smile.

"Richard," she said. "Refresh my memory, but how old am I?"

He held his hand under his chin in mock deep thought. "Twenty-five, last I checked," he replied.

She gave him a peck on the cheek. "Kiss-ass. Richard, I'm thirty-eight. I'm pretty sure that May and I can survive a…how long would this trip last?"

"Wendy…"

"How long?"

"…I don't know, a couple days, I guess,"

"See? May and I can survive a couple days, Richard."

"I know, but…" He tried to think up a reason, but nothing came to mind. She was right, and if anything, he was being petty by thinking that they needed him to constantly be with them.

"So…you'd be fine if I went?" he finally asked.

"Of course I would," she said. "May and I will be okay. And if worse comes to worse, we can always go to the Yuki's."

Richard teasingly grimaced. "That doesn't fill me with hope, Wendy."

She laughed and threw a pillow at him. Giving an indignant cry of 'no fair, I wasn't ready for that', he returned the blow, and the two shared a night of love and laughter.

They barely heard the sound of feet making their way downstairs and out the door.

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><p>Richard was ready to leave by eleven the next morning. His duffle bag was packed and slung over his shoulder. He gave his wife one last kiss, and gave a peck to the head of his still-sleeping daughter. He bid farewell to the rest of Littleroot, started up his car (one of the few vehicles that wasn't overturned in the shockwave), and drove off along the empty road.<p>

It was when he had gotten to Oldale that he heard the first muffled thump. When he heard it, he blamed it on some mechanical problem. As he continued, however, he realized that the sounds were coming from behind him…in fact, from the backseat. After a while, he couldn't take any more of it and pulled over. He opened his door and walked around to the door to the backseat. Peering through the window, he noticed a blanket drawn under his duffle bag, which he had thrown in with little thought.

And by the looks of it, there was something under the blanket.

Richard took a deep breath and opened the back door. The blanket shuddered and then lay as still as possible. He removed the duffle bag, paused, and then yanked off the blanket as fast as he could, revealing...

… a rather sheepish-looking teenage girl.

"Hi, Dad!" May said, breaking the awkward tension.

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><p><strong>Please forgive me for a really short chapter! Aagh!<strong>


	8. Chapter 5

**Alright, I said I'd make it up to you guys, so here we go. From here on out, we're going to get to the meat of this fanfic. Enjoy and thank you for bearing with the last chapter.**

**Edit: Changed some wording to the benefit of the story, and...fixed a really, _really _stupid mistake. Read the reviews; I'm sure you'll find out where I goofed.**

* * *

><p>"May Harriet Birch!" Richard said. He tried to think of something else to say, failed, and instead repeated "May Harriet Birch!"<p>

May chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of her neck. "Uh…yes?"

He stared at her, dumbfounded. "What are you doing here? Does Wendy know you're here?"

"Er…no," she muttered. "I snuck out into the car last night after I heard you talking to Mom, and I stayed in there for the rest of the night."

Richard sighed. "How much did you he– wait a minute," he stopped. "When did you sneak out?"

May shrugged. "I don't know, but it was right after I heard you talking to Mom."

"And you stayed there for the rest of the night?" he asked.

May blinked. "Yeah, pretty much. Why?"

Richard thought back to the morning. "But that makes…no sense! Are you sure you left right after that?"

"I'm pretty sure that I would know, Dad."

"That's not right," Richard said. "You were in your bed this morning!"

"No I wasn't!"

Richard looked at her and sighed. "Well…whatever. How much did you hear last night?"

"Well," May began, "I heard that you didn't graduate – don't worry, Dad, I still love you – and that those guys in suits were the Pokémon something-or-other-"

"Pokémon Mystery Society," Richard corrected.

"Right, the - " she paused. "Oh! PMS! I get it now!" She began to laugh, and turned it into a cough when she saw that her father wasn't joining with her. "Sorry. Anyways, I also heard that they wanted you to go to Mt. Chimney, and…yeah. That's about it."

One question down. "Okay, but why did you come with me?"

A look of deep thought flashed across her face. "Because…" she said slowly. She then regained her chipper appearance. "Because I wanted to help you, that's why," she finished.

Richard resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Fine, but why hide in the back of the car? Wouldn't it be easier for you to ask either me or your mother if you could go?"

May placed her hands on her hips and frowned. "I couldn't because of two reasons. One, you would've said no-"

"You don't know that," Richard objected.

"And two," May continued, "you decided to leave without even telling me! So even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to ask you!" Finished, she folded her arms and smiled triumphantly.

Richard stared at her for a moment. He then turned back to the car. "Get back inside," he said. "You're going back home."

The triumphant smile on her face faded almost instantly. "What?"

"May, you snuck out, didn't even think of asking either of us, and just made me into the one at fault! You," he said, dangerously on the verge of resorting to yelling, "are going home right now!"

May stood frozen to the spot. "But..." she started.

"No buts, May."

"...Dad..."

Richard held up his hand. "May, I'm not in the mood for this, so just-"

"Please?"

Richard stopped. "Pardon?" he asked.

"May I please go with you?" May asked with the sweetest smile she could muster.

Richard frowned. "It's a little late to ask that now, don't you think?"

Her smile drooped into a Cubone-eyes face. "Please?" she asked in a pitiful tone.

Richard's frown softened a bit, and then hardened again. May had left home without asking anyone, and only now was asking to come along.

On the other hand, she did present fairly valid points, and a partner for the trip wouldn't hurt.

Back to the first hand, it was to a fairly active volcano, and didn't want to bring the risk to May.

But on the second hand, she did say please…a bit belated, but she still did.

And he did have a soft spot for Cubone-eyes.

He chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. "Well," he said, "let's find a phone and call Wendy first – don't get your hopes up, it's still just a maybe," he added once he saw her face light up.

* * *

><p>Thankfully, the power had returned to Oldale as well. Richard had pulled over at the Pokémon Center to use the phone, whilst May stood outside and watched the people go by. After a while, she noticed three different types of people. One type of them walked along with their heads down, just trying to get from one point to another in the aftermath of disaster. A second type hugged each other in the middle of the street, cheering over the fact they were still alive, and that the electricity had returned. And the third type held picket signs over their head, proclaiming that Arceus was dead. Neither of the first two types paid the third any attention.<p>

She felt a bubble of pride rise up inside of her. She was above these three; she wasn't just going to stay in the same place and let everything happen around her. She was going to the volcano and investigate the problem herself (hopefully).

And still, something felt odd.

"Hello, May," said a familiar voice beside her.

She casually turned. "Hi, Link," she said and then turned back to the passerby. Immediately she turned back around. "Link?"

Link gave her a small grin. "Hello," he said again.

"Um…hi!" she said. There was a small pause, and then she said, "How did you know my name was May? I don't…I don't think I told you."

"That is what your father and mother called you, was it not?" he asked.

May nodded. "Right, right, after I asked about you having a…" She cleared her throat to break the sudden awkwardness. "So, what are you up to? You kinda ran out suddenly last night."

"Searching," he replied simply.

"…Searching for…?" May asked when he didn't explain any further.

"Searching," he said more firmly, indicating that May wasn't getting any more information out of him then she already did.

She shrugged resignedly. "Okay, so, _where_ are you searching?"

Link didn't say anything, and instead stared through her. In one swift movement, he reached behind his back, pulled out his sword from its scabbard, and held it out before him, a maddened look coming over his face.

May yelped and stumbled backwards from the sudden movement. "Wait! Link! I'm sorry if I offended you…somehow! Put down the sword! Please!" she begged as held her arms over her face defensively.

When she forced them out of her face so she could look, Link was gone. Confused, she looked for him until she heard a sudden yelp of pain. She turned around to the source of the sound, and found him by the forest, a pack of Poochyena surrounding him. To the side was a single Poochyena, not hurt, but dazed, its tail firmly stuck between its legs. The rest of the pack continued to circle Link hungrily, while he kept the sword held high over his head. One of the Scavenger Pokémon behind Link had enough, and lunged for him, its jaws open for the attack.

"Behind you!" May shrieked.

Quickly, Link spiraled around, smacking the Poochyena with the broadside of the sword. The Pokémon went flying for at least five feet before landing on the dirt with a dusty thump. Another pounced and met a similar fate. Two lunged for Link at once; one was swiftly deflected, whilst the other one managed to sink its jaws into Link's shoulder.

May winced, but Link didn't even flinch; instead, he reached over, plucked the Poochyena like a ripe berry, held it by the scruff of its neck, and flung it into the bush.

Behind May, Richard stepped out of the Pokémon Center, running his hand through his hair. "Well, May," he said, "the verdict is in, and you are..." He stopped when he realized that May wasn't listening to a word he was saying. He turned to look at what she was staring so intently at, saw the spectacle unfolding, and muttered "What...the...Muk."

Richard wasn't the only person who noticed the battle. All three of the different kinds of passerby had stopped what they were doing and started watching with morbid fascination. One could hear small pieces of conversation; things like "Who is that man?", "Is that a sword?", "He ought to be ashamed of himself, this is a civilized age," and "No, no, that's a tunic, not a skirt."

With one final swing of the sword, the last of the Poochyena was launched and landed on the dirt. The rest of the pack slowly staggered back onto their paws, not seriously hurt, but very dazed and confused, and turned their sights to Link, who raised his sword, growling. Thinking better of it, they turned tail and ran off into the forest, yelping and stumbling over each other like a pack of Spinda. As they ran away, there was a smattering of applause from the audience gathered.

Richard prodded May on the shoulder. "What did I miss?" he asked incredulously.

May turned to him and shrugged. "I really don't know. I was talking to him, things were going fine, and then he just ran into the forest! You understand about as much as I do right now."

Richard shook his head in disbelief. "Legends-damned. But that doesn't explain why he did it."

May turned back to Link. "Well, you'll be able to ask him yourself. Here he - holy shit!"

Richard was about to object to her choice of words until he turned to Link. Cradled in the young man's arms was a child, a little girl, tears making lines through the dirt on her face. On her arms and legs were deep bite marks, all of which were bleeding profusely.

What Link had done finally made sense; he hadn't just picked a random fight with a pack of Poochyena, but did so to save this girl.

There was a shriek from a woman who rushed out from the gathered crowd. She took her child and rushed to the hospital with her in her arms. Some of the crowd followed after her, if only to see this sequence of events come to a close. Most, however, just slowly dispersed and returned to their normal lives, not before giving Link a few congratulatory pats on the back.

After receiving quite an amount of praise, Link walked back over to May, smiling sheepishly. "What was your question?" he asked.

The dam burst. "Forget that last question!" May yelled. "What was that? Where did you learn how to do that? How were you not hurt? Why-"

"Slow down, May," Richard said when he saw that Link was looking slightly overwhelmed. He cleared his throat and said "Now then…the use of weapons beyond Pokémon is been illegal due to cultural taboo, with the Veilstone Myth and all…"

May's face fell in disappointment, whereas Link's twisted in confusion.

"On the other hand," Richard continued. "That was awesome."

Link smiled and bowed humbly. "Thank you."

May looked at the two and suddenly snapped her fingers. "Right! I remember now," she said, turning to her father. "Am I going, Dad?"

Link turned his head curiously. "Going where?"

"Going," Richard said firmly to Link, and turned back to May. "Well, May, congratulations! You're coming along."

May did a small fist pump. "Yes! That's great! I get to...um..." Her voice faltered. She gave a quick glance to Link, short enough to not comment on, but long enough for Richard to raise a quizzical eyebrow.

Smiling, Link bowed once again to her and then to Richard. "Congratulations, May," he said. "May you two have luck in...where you are going." With that, he sheathed his sword, turned around and began to walk down the road.

Richard frowned. "Where is he going, exactly?"

"He's...searching," May said in a wistful voice.

Richard turned to her. "Searching where?"

She sighed and shrugged. "I don't think he even knows."

Richard looked at May, also sighed, and ushered her over to the side of the car.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing," he told her.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"May, I know you. Yes, the bit with the sword was incredible. Yes, he's searching for…something. But I'm not bringing another person along this trip. You're the only exception that I'll make, and for Arceus's sake, _stop making Cubone-eyes_!"

* * *

><p>"Buckle up, Link."<p>

Link stared at him blankly. "Pardon?"

Richard looked at him curiously from the driver's seat. "Put your seatbelt on, Link."

Looking around in confusion, Link finally found the seatbelt, pulled it out, stared at the buckle and finally buckled up with a satisfying click.

Richard continued to look at him. "How far out of town did you say you were?"

"Far," Link said.

With an unsatisfied "Hm," Richard started up the car and pulled forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Link stiffen up and clutch the grab handle, but decided not to comment on it.

The drive through Route 102 and Petalburg City passed in relative silence. The only snippets of talk were commentary of the slightly barren landscape and attempts to learn more about Link. All attempts at the latter failed miserably, but as they spoke of the former, they were surprised to find themselves saying that it wasn't that bad, and in fact may have been better than it was in Littleroot or even Oldale. There was no fire damage, and many of the trees were still standing. If possible, the trees looked better than usual, and only got healthier after they passed through Petalburg.

After they had passed through Petalburg and were making their way up Route 103, Richard looked out the window and frowned. "That's odd," he muttered.

May craned forward. "What is?" she asked.

Pulling over to the side of the road, Richard opened the car door and gestured to the Petalburg Woods. Yellow tape declaring "Danger – do not enter" had been haphazardly put across the forest entrance. This wasn't greatly unusual; after the 'Pokémon Rebellion', many areas where Pokémon frequented had been declared off limits. However, hanging above the forest in a dark cloud was a massive swarm of Dustox and Beautifly. _This _was unusual; not only because it meant that Bug Pokémon had returned, but Dustox and Beautifly had a natural rivalry with each other, and one would never fly in a group with the other. But there they were, all the same, flying in a cloud so tight it was difficult to tell where a Beautifly ended and a Dustox began.

May squinted as she looked up. "Huh. That's kinda weird." She shrugged. "I've seen worse, though."

As soon as she said those last four words, the swarm changed its movement. The Dustox and Beautifly began flying down into the forest in a downward spiral, looking like a bizarre multicolored tornado. They flowed down in this pattern until they had all disappeared into the depths of Petalburg Woods, finishing off the spectacle with a collective and unearthly bellow.

May gave a respectful nod. "Okay," she said. "That's weird."

Richard nodded as well, an eerie feeling starting to grow inside of him. "I've never seen something like that before…" He looked around to see any other Pokémon copying this behavior. Then he noticed something.

"Where's Link?" he asked.

May suddenly snapped to attention. "Link?" she called out. "Where are – oh crap."

Richard turned to the forest entrance. The yellow tape had been sliced in the middle.

He cursed. All this trouble because of a pair of Cubone-eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Review, s'il vous plait!<strong>


	9. Chapter 6

**Exams…yeah, that sounds like a legitimate excuse. Exams.**

**None this base belong to us.**

* * *

><p>"Link?" Richard called out in the forest once again. And again, the only response was the creaking of the old trees in the wind. He sighed and kept walking forward, grumbling to himself, "'Go on a little research trip', they said. 'Sure', I said. 'I haven't gone on one for years', I said."<p>

He looked around to all the ominous trees and shivered. "Now I'm beginning to understand why," he said. Then he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Link! It's not safe here! Let's go!"

A twig snapped behind him. He span around, expecting the swarm to burst out and attack at any moment. He hated being this nervous. After the explosion, he had told himself to be strong and brave for May and Wendy. And although neither of them was there at that time, he nonetheless hated this feeling.

Something else was bothering him as well. No, not really bothering him, more confusing him. After the explosion, much of the foliage he had seen was either knocked down or singed. Here, however, everything was flourishing. The leaves on the trees had grown to the point where practically no light was allowed through the canopy. Ivy, moss and vines grew wild as though they had been growing for years without any human interaction. But most jarring were the trees themselves. Richard had been to Petalburg woods before, not too long ago, and the trees then were a normal thickness. But around him, the trees had turned huge and strong, as though they had aged hundreds of years since he had last seen them. It was bizarre; and a bit unnerving.

The snap showed itself to be nothing; maybe it was just his imagination. Taking several deep breaths, Richard continued forward, one thought dominate in his mind over the paranoia and the bizarre floral activity:

_Where did that boy go?_

Yes, he had seen him fend off a pack of Poochyena with nothing but a sword. Yes, several days ago, he allowed Link to run off into the night. But there were two major differences between those events and this one. One of those differences was that neither of those two events involved a giant swarm of Bug-type Pokémon. The other was paternal instinct. There was no way that he was going to let Link run into the forest while May watched. And so, he had told her that he would be back with Link.

_So where the hell did that boy go?_

His mind drifted back to her, still waiting back at the car. If Richard spent too long looking for Link, she would most likely come in looking for the both of them. What if all three of them got lost in the forest? What if the swarm picked them off, one by one?

He tripped, rewarding his paranoia with a mouthful of leaves and rotten bark. After reveling in the irony for a moment, he pushed himself up, spat out the litterfall, and turned around to see what he had tripped over.

What he found was a slab of wood. Curious, Richard picked it up and inspected the backside of it. It was still green and fresh, and the cuts around the edges were clean and smooth. It couldn't have simply rotted and fell off of the tree and it couldn't have been the work of any sort of Pokémon; this sort of precision could only come from someone using a knife…_or a sword._

This was Link's handiwork. Excited, Richard stood up and looked around. "Link!" he yelled. "If you can hear me, say something!" Naturally, there was no response, but this discovery had given Richard a burst of energy. Tucking the wood underneath his arm, he ran forward, ignoring the stings of branches and leaves in his face. He stumbled over a thick tree root, but he picked himself up and kept going, and after a several minutes of running, he burst into a small clearing and slowed to a stop.

He buckled over to catch his breath. He could almost hear Norman telling him, 'Damn, Richard, you're out of shape.' He chuckled as he straightened up.

"Norman," he muttered between heavy breaths, "once this is over, I swear I'll take up jogging." Popping his back, he looked around the clearing. Nothing but green circled around him; sheets of moss growing up the sides of trees, thorns and bushes making thick walls between trees, a green man with a sword facing away from him, ropes of vines and ivy, and a species of tree Richard was pretty sure didn't grow in – he turned back around.

"Link!" Richard called out as he walked towards the youth. "I've been yelling myself hoarse out here. Let's get out, it's not safe-"

"_Quiet_!" Link hissed without turning around.

Richard stopped. "Excuse me?"

"_Please_ be quiet," Link remedied. His sword was drawn, which Richard realized meant that there was something nearby.

"What is it?" he asked in a whisper.

Link didn't respond; he didn't have to, as the answer in the form of a large and very cross-looking Breloom pulled itself out of the bushes and walked slowly towards Link. It slammed its tail on the ground with a dull thud to intimidate the little green human in front of it. But Link didn't flinch (which is far more than can be said for Richard). Instead, he slowly turned his head to Richard and whispered, "When I say now, throw me the shield."

"Throw the what?" Richard hissed.

The Breloom lunged for Link.

"Now! NOW!" Link shouted.

Still not completely understanding, Richard immediately threw the nearest available object: the piece of wood. Link span around and caught it in midair, held it by its sides, span back around, deflected a punch from the Breloom, and slammed the wood into the Breloom's face with enough force to smash the makeshift shield into two pieces.

The Mushroom Pokémon was stunned by the sudden counterattack for only a moment. Then it shook its head and glared at Link with a new level of hatred. Link looked at the remains of the shield, muttered something in a language Richard didn't recognize, and pulled out his sword. The Breloom leapt forward again, its pointed claws pointed straight at Link. He nimbly sidestepped the attack, but was caught off guard by the Pokémon's tail, which clubbed him right in the stomach. As he staggered backwards against a tree, the Breloom turned around to face him and deliver a final attack.

Knowing he would hate himself later, Richard ran forward. "HEY! Over here, you mangy, ugly-!" he yelled at the Breloom, waving his arms and trying to divert the attention. The Breloom gave him an incredibly pitying look before turning back to his original target. In desperation, Richard began picking up stones and wood on the forest floor and threw them at the Breloom to change Richard's status of yappy, pathetic into being a genuine threat.

Unfortunately, it worked. The Breloom turned to him with its head low and glaring daggers into Richard. He stumbled backwards, nervously chuckling. "Eh…heh. Well, this is bad…I've just got on the bad side of one of the most powerful Grass Pokémon species recorded… Hm. Ah, heh, why don't we…just…back away and…" His voice slowly drifted off as the Breloom advanced. He winced as it raised its red claw to deliver a fierce blow-

It stopped. Out of one half-opened eye, he saw the Breloom, frozen with one claw still raised high. Then suddenly, it yelped, and bounded off into the forest, far out of sight.

Where the Pokémon had stood was Link, one hand clutching where the Breloom's tail had caught him, the other holding his sword tightly. On his face was a grim smile.

Richard did not return the smile. "What were you _thinking_?" he asked. "Didn't you hear me? It's dangerous to go alone out in places like this!"

Link's smile quickly vanished, a deep frown taking its place. "I saved your life!" he said indignantly.

"You put yours at risk!" Richard yelled right back.

Sheathing his sword, Link growled, "You think me incaple?"

Richard blinked. "Think you what?"

"Incaple," Link repeated. Then his frown became tinged with confusion. "Incaple? In…in…inca…" he muttered, rolling the word around in his mouth, trying to find the proper pronunciation.

"Incapable?" Richard suggested.

"Thank you," Link said. "You think me…incapable?"

"No, I think you crazy!" Richard shook his head in irritation. "I think _you're_ crazy. You run off without so much as a word to anyone else, go swinging a sword at anything that moves-"

"I use this to protect!" Link objected, pointing to his weapon.

"You have a skewed idea of protection."

"You!" Link yelled, pointing at Richard. "You do nothing! You let things happen around you! In Hyrule, you would be-"

Link then clapped a hand over his mouth, shame replacing the anger on his face. Richard frowned. "In where? I didn't catch that."

Link didn't respond. Instead, he looked around, as if only just now realizing where he was, looking very lost and confused. Sympathy panged within Richard. Link truly was a stranger in a strange land. 'Hyrule', though; the name didn't sound very familiar. Maybe Link had mispronounced a different name, though if he did, why was he ashamed?

Richard's frown faded away. "Link," he said softly, "I'm sorry." Link finally turned back around to face him. Richard continued, "It's been…a very long couple of weeks. And I really am glad to see that you're alright."

Link gave him a sad smile. "Thank you," he said. He then stooped down and picked something up from the forest floor. "And sir?"

"Just Richard, please."

"…Richard," Link said, and then he handed over the thing from the ground to Richard. Richard held it up to the light to identify it as the spore ball from the Breloom's tail

"Thank you for saving my life," Link finished. Richard smiled and pocketed the spore ball.

"You saved me first," Richard conceded. "Just promise me one thing."

Link cocked his head curiously.

"Warn me before you go running off next time."

Link's smile widened. "Of course." His smile dimmed as he turned towards where Richard had come from.

Richard followed his gaze. "What is it?"

"Listen," Link said.

Richard listened closely.

"I don't hear anything," he whispered after a while.

"_Listen_," Link insisted.

Richard sighed and quieted down again. This time, he could hear something faintly on the wind; a voice yelling something far away. A young woman's voice. A girl's voice.

"May!" Richard yelled. He began to run off into the forest when he stopped and turned around. "Link, stay here, I'll be right back," he called out quickly. And with that, he turned around and ran off into the depths of the forest.

* * *

><p>Link watched him disappear. Richard was a good man. Here in this land, it was good to have an ally.<p>

Which reminded him; he had mentioned Hyrule. He had to be more careful. They had specifically told him not to mention Hyrule. On the other hand, he was to do this task alone, a clause that he had clearly broken already, so it couldn't be that bad to mention his homeland…could it?

He shrugged to himself. Hopefully, Richard wouldn't pry. Right now, there were more important things to do. Namely, the shield. He looked back at the split piece of wood and cursed. His old Deku Shield never so much as splintered, unless it caught on fire. So what happened with this one? Was it the wood itself or the creature's punch?

He gave the wood one last look and sighed. If wood here reacted like that, a shield wouldn't be any use at all. He left the splinters where they were, took a swig of potion, and walked into the forest.

If he was right, he was going to walk right into trouble.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not dead yet!<strong>

**Please review, your reviews give me motivation to get another chapter done.**


	10. Chapter 7

**Note: This chapter features a slightly different writing style for the most part. Please don't let that dissuade you:**** it's mostly because of the narrator of this one, and...well, just read it and tell me if I should use it more often or I should overhaul this chapter like mad.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>To help you along your quest is your sword, forged in the heart of the Terminian Mountains, tempered with the finest gold dust. It alone shall be your ally; no other is to help you, let alone know of the land from whence you came.<em>

_And should you accomplish this task, we shall have enough power to return you to your home. You shall find the first step in a forest not too far from where you shall awaken._

_So Link..._

_Awaken!_

And wake up Link did, in the strange land far from his own. He found that the goddesses had been true to their word upon finding his Gilded Sword in its scabbard.

Forward he did march to find the forest.

He was then hit by a speeding automobile.

* * *

><p>Much later, Link continued the journey through the woods. That swarm of insects had to be some sign from the goddesses that this was the forest that they had spoken of.<p>

The potion he had found, though it had rejuvenated him, was not settling well after he had drunk it. It was odd; they had advertised its healing effects, and yet it was bitter, unpleasant, and did not seem to be healing his wounds quickly like the potions back home did.

He gave a half-sigh, half-groan. It would have to do; it was better to fight with partially healed wounds than with bleeding sores.

After walking for some time, he felt something brush against his face. Absent-mindedly, he rubbed his hand against his face to clear away any remnants of whatever it was, but stopped walking when he realized that his hand had become entangled in the substance. He squinted and looked closely at it, identifying it as some sort of sticky thread…like the web of a Skulltula. He shivered at the memory of those creatures, which he knew all too well from his childhood; when they came out at night, squirming, rustling, beady red eyes glowing against the darkness…

He pushed aside his childhood phobia. This was a completely different land; there was no chance that Skulltulas would be here as well. Hopefully. Maybe.

He looked back at the substance in his hand. So what here could produce this silk? Curiously, he reached out with his other hand and felt more of the string. He started walking again, keeping one hand in the silk to follow it. It weaved along the trees, gaining in thickness as he continued alongside it. Other paths of silk also began to appear, all of them going towards one point. Link looked ahead to see where they would all converge, and saw a light off in the distance.

Excited, he abandoned the silk and began to run forward, leaping over tree roots and fallen logs, and ignoring whenever silk would stick to his face. The light grew larger as he approached, and finally, he leapt into the light and landed in a forest clearing…gaining the attention of the swarm of bugs gathered.

The swarm stared at him, their beady eyes making light clicking noises as they blinked.

He stared back, his hand leaving his stomach and slowly reaching for his sword behind his back. He sized them up; one third of them appeared to be large butterflies with multicolored wings, and another third were fat, purple moths with pupil-less eyes. The final third appeared to be their young; bright red worms that spat the string from their jaws.

As he looked around the clearing, he noticed a large, grey cocoon in the center of the three factions. The worms were clambering over the cocoon and spitting out the silk onto it, gradually increasing its size. It was still, and so most likely not a threat at the moment, unlike the bugs. Their wings had opened and they began to fly slowly over to Link, small clouds of purple dust rising from the moth's wings.

Link pulled out his sword and held it out before him. Some of the bugs fluttered uncertainly at the sight of the weapon, but the rest moved forward just the same. Link took a deep breath. He wasn't used to fighting large groups, but he would have to now.

And as he raised the sword over his head, the worms began screaming.

It was a very peculiar sound, and it caught both the bugs' and Link's attention. Running around like Cuccos, the worms abandoned the cocoon and made for the depths of the forest, the high-pitched shriek slowly fading away as they disappeared.

The bugs ignored Link and fluttered over to where the worms were, obviously in confusion. One moth, after fluttering about for a while, landed on top of the cocoon. Immediately, it took to the air again as though the silk had somehow caught on fire. As it flew away, the other bugs tentatively landed on the cocoon as well, and practically had the same reaction, abandoning the cocoon where it was, and flying off in all directions.

Link was left with the cocoon. Curiously, he went forward and placed his hand on it. As he did, the cocoon moved; barely a twitch, but the action was still noticeable. Link pulled his hand away, raising the other that held the sword. The cocoon was still for a moment; and then it moved again. And again. And again. And each time it did, Link began to hear a faint heartbeat, which grew faster and louder as the cocoon became more active. The twitching grew to writhing, then to shaking, and then to thrashing, as something deep inside wanted desperately to get out and god forbid a silk cocoon should impede its progress.

Link began to step back, sword at the ready. Steam began to rise from the cocoon, and muffled plucking noises came from within, like the strings of a lyre. Finally, with a ripping noise, one of the seams tore open and the wing of a giant moth burst out, oily black in color. Another burst out on the opposite side, and the two straightened out and stiffened in the forest air. There was a pause, and the seams opened a third time between the two, revealing a single, giant eye. The eye stared into Link, and Link stared into it, a horrible memory returning as he recalled where he saw the eye before.

But there was no way; there was no way that this creature could be…

"Gohma?" Link whispered.

At the sound of its name, the rest of the cocoon exploded open, revealing the new, improved Gohma. Her yellow eye remained, as did her vile insectoid nature, but she had clearly been changed. Her body was now that of a black worm, with six vestigial legs along her bottom. The large, black wings opened majestically, some splotches fading away to reveal a demonic skull-and-crossbones pattern.

"Goh_moth_," Link corrected.

He didn't have much time to marvel at her new form before she flew into the air, circling Link hungrily. She then tucked her wings in and dived for Link, who barely managed to jump out of the way in time. Shrieking, she flew back up to try again.

As he watched her warily, a plan began to form in his mind. Before she dived for him again, he ran to the edge of the clearing, putting his back against one of the trees. Not taking this into account, she soared down for him. He rolled out of the way at the last second, and with a splintering crack, Gohmoth crashed head-first into the tree, knocking herself unconscious.

Link ran up onto her back, and found Gohmoth's eye wide open and staring up into space. He grinned at the simplicity of it and swung his sword in a downward arc, creating a deep gash within the eye.

Awakened from her stupor, Gohmoth shook Link off of her back, shrieking from the pain in her eye. White hot with rage, she charged straight for Link, beating her wings to propel her across the ground.

Link rolled to her right, and as she passed by him, he reached up with his sword and neatly lopped off her right wing. She didn't even flinch at the pain, and gained more speed by flapping her other wing at an unbelievable rate, turning and charging for Link again. Link only managed to roll away at the last moment, and chopped off her left wing. With no means of directing her movement or slowing down, she skidded along the ground and crashed into the same tree again.

Before Link could climb onto her back a second time, however, something strange happened. Her entire body was engulfed by green fire, obscuring her for a moment. As it cleared, she had been changed again. Horns grew along her back, and the vestigial legs had been replaced by rows and rows of sleek, insect legs that covered her entire underbelly.

"Gohmillipede," Link muttered. "This is ridiculous."

As though she had heard that comment, the hundreds of legs propelled her forward like the arrow from a bow. Link leapt out of the way, and Gohmillipede continued forward, disappearing between the trees.

He watched where she had disappeared, expecting her to burst out at any moment. Suddenly, she did; behind him. Before he could turn around, she flipped him onto her back and charged forward, causing him to roll the spikes and thorns along her body before being deposited onto the ground as she disappeared again.

He pushed himself up, coughing up blood. She could appear from anywhere now; he span around, looking everywhere for any sign of where she might appear. The forest was silent for a moment, giving no hint of where she might have been…wait. Link squinted at one entrance and saw leafs fluttering out of it, as though the air inside was being pushed out – Link leapt out of the way. Just as he did, Gohmillipede stormed through the entrance and disappeared through another, leaving a faint roar of indignation.

Link grinned and watched the other tunnels. Puffs of fog began to bellow out of one, and Link nimbly leapt aside, dodging Gohmillipede as she exited through another one. Leafs drifted out another entrance, followed by the arachnid, which was dodged again. As this pattern continued, she began to build up speed, not truly looking forward, her hatred for this insufferable prey consuming her as she sped forward into the light once more; and had her eye skewered by the little prey's sword.

There was a burst of green flame, which quickly died away, taking all remnants of Gohma – or whatever she had become – and her web. Where she stood was a glittering medallion, which Link took, holding it to the heavens triumphantly with a smile of victory dominating his face.

The smile faded quickly and turned to a grimace. As he pocketed the stone, he grasped his stomach with his other hand, turning pale to the face.

The potion had apparently not forgotten him. And in the aftermath of the fight, after his moment of glory, Link threw up and passed out.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the woods, a Breloom without a spore ball bounded through the forest, angered at the human and the human's fat friend. Its precious spore ball was gone, and it was because of the fat human, the weapon, and most of all, that hated-<p>

It stopped. Its red claws reached up and felt a small dart protruding out of its neck. With that, its eyes rolled back and it fell to the ground. Before its vision completely faded away, it saw two blurry shapes, too dark to make out, and heard:

"Good shot."

"Thanks. Let's bag this one up with the others."

And then all went dark.

* * *

><p><strong>Link threw up and passed out.<strong>

**Write that sometime yourself. It's strangely therapeutic.**


	11. Chapter 8

…

"…Where is he…"

"..was somewhere around…"

"…Muk, it looks like a train…"

…

"…found him!"

"Oh Arceus, what…"

…

"Mind his head…"

…

"The hospital in Rustboro…"

…

…

"Zel…"

"Hm?"

…

"Zeld…"

"Link, can you hear…"

…

…

"Z…"

…

…

…

* * *

><p>"You're here about…Link, yes?"<p>

Both May and Richard looked up to see a man with a clipboard. Richard stood up. "That's us. How-"

May beat him to it. "Where is he? Is he going to be okay? Oh Arceus, please say-"

She stopped abruptly as Richard laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't overwhelm the doctor, May," he said, chuckling at the doctor's shell-shocked expression. "Go on, sir."

The doctor collected himself and beckoned for them to follow. "It's a good thing you were able to get him here when you did," he said, looking through the notes on the clipboard as he continued to walk forward. "Nothing too serious, mind you. Minor blood loss, internal bruising-"

"Wait a minute," May interrupted, dodging various nurses and doctors that also worked their ways through the hall. "How is_ that_ all he had?" She turned to her father. "Norman hit him with a truck, didn't he?"

The doctor abruptly stopped and looked at her, horrified. "What?!"

"Car, actually," Richard offered. He sighed. "It happened during the explosion."

"Hm," the doctor sniffed. "Been hearing that a lot these past few days. We've been taking in everyone as far as Verdanturf here ever since that explosion." He began walking again, never losing a beat in his speech. "Professor, what was that all about, anyhow?"

Richard paused; and then he said, "I wouldn't be able to tell you, Doctor. I'm a biologist, not a mountain climber."

"Of course," the doctor sighed before suddenly stopping again. He opened a door to reveal a small room that most likely had been a supply closet before it had been repurposed for the mass increase in patients. The most it contained was a bed and a small table. Lying on the bed was Link, either asleep or unconscious, his tunic removed to reveal a chest lined with scars.

May stifled a cry at the scars, and moved over to the side of the bed. Richard was about to follow when the doctor prodded him lightly on the shoulder and led him out into the hall.

* * *

><p>Lying on the bedside table was a large box.<p>

May looked at it from across the bed before forcing her eyes away. _Don't even think about it_, she scolded herself.

She glanced back. It still sat there, taunting her curiosity just for a _NO! No! Not going to do it._

…_No..._

She quietly stepped over to the box, gingerly opened it up and surveyed its contents. In it, she found: a half-empty bottle of potion, two surprisingly heavy gauntlets, and his hat and tunic. She lifted the tunic out and gave it a closer look, to discover that the material it was made out of wasn't cotton or any recognizable type of fabric; as she ran her hand along its surface, it felt veined and fibrous, like a very large leaf.

As she felt along the veins of the leaf-tunic, she found a pocket. She gave a quick glance to Link to see if he was still unconscious (he was), reached inside carefully, and quickly drew it out again with a gasp. Something in the pocket had pricked her finger; she looked at it closely and saw a bead of blood form on the end of it. She wiped it away and reached into the pocket more carefully. As she felt something hard and small, she pulled it out from the pocket and held it up to the light to inspect it.

It was a diamond. She paused, rubbed her eyes, and held it up to the light again. No; not quite a diamond. It was a clear crystal of some kind, but in its center was a blue core that was…no…it couldn't be glowing, could it?

Suddenly, Link's hand stretched out and clung onto May's wrist. She leapt in surprise and began to pull her hand away, but he held fast.

"Link," she softly objected, trying to pry off his fingers one by one.

"Zelda," he groaned back.

May froze. That name again. The one he kept repeating all the way here. She slipped the gem into her pocket and lowered herself to his level. "Link?" she whispered.

He was silent for a moment, his eyes still firmly shut. Then he began to mutter. At first, May thought that he was making random noises until she realized there was a certain rhyme and reason to them. He was speaking some language she didn't understand, nor did she recognize. And again and again, he kept calling out that name: Zelda. Zelda. Zelda.

"Link," she said gently, but he cut her off. By this point, his words had become angry and bitter. His face was contorted into a look of deep, fiery anger and betrayal, and his hand squeezed even tighter around her wrist.

"Link, please wake up!" she pleaded. He gave no sign of doing such a thing, however. He had begun to thrash about, trying to kick off the covers and swinging wildly with his other hand. His angry words had increased in volume, and he screamed and bellowed in the bizarre language.

The sound of running feet echoed through the hall outside. She turned back to Link and begged, "Please, Link-"

His swinging hand struck her across the face, and she cried out. Immediately, Link stopped. His hand released her wrist, and she hastily stepped away, rubbing her stinging cheek. He was still again, but only for a moment. Slowly he curled into a fetal position, holding his face in his hands. And the room was silent save for the noise of his raggedy breath amidst his soft crying.

Years of helping her father in the field, researching and helping wild Pokémon (at more than one point, she had even seriously considered becoming a Pokémon Ranger), had not prepared her for something like this. She took several calming breaths, and did something that was very likely to be rather stupid. Slowly, she stepped back towards him and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, but accepted the gesture. Then she pressed her other hand underneath his head, and slowly raised his head from the mattress. His hands parted to reveal his face, slightly red and streaked with the lines of tears, and still his eyes were shut.

She lifted her other hand to his face, gently rubbing it as her mother would do for her. His face slowly relaxed, and one of his hands felt along hers, leaving a bizarre feeling in her skin as he caressed it lightly.

"Zel-" he whispered, but she placed a finger to his lips and shushed him. And what she did next, she would later rationalize that it just felt like the right thing to do, though at the moment, she had no clue of what she was doing.

She leaned forward and kissed him. It was a short peck on the lips; nothing more. But the action had its intended result. His face took on a look of contentment, and he became heavy. He eased himself down onto the mattress again and fell back asleep.

On the opposite side on the scale of comfort, May stayed in the same position for several moments as what she had just done registered through her mind. She touched her lips gingerly, and then rubbed her hand which he had held, though the unfamiliar tingle had left.

_Snap out of it_, she reprimanded herself. And though part of her wanted to stay in that moment forever, she stood up stiffly, popping her back and neck.

Suddenly, a nurse stepped into the room, making May quickly check herself and try to make her look more casual. Of course, such an action makes one look more obvious, which the nurse did not fail to pick up. "Is everything alright in here?" she asked with one eyebrow raised like a flag.

"Hmm? Oh, yes," May innocently flustered. "Everything's fine in here, fine, just…fine." She paused. "How are you?"

The nurse frowned. "We heard some noise coming from this hall, and we've been trying to figure out what happened. Are you sure everything's alright in here?"

"Ah, yes. Well, that, heh, yeah, that was from here, you see, um…Link here…" She glanced back at him sleeping peacefully on the cot. "…had a bit of a nightmare, I suppose."

Looking between the two of them, the nurse gave a sigh. "Alright. So long as he's fine." She turned away, throwing her hands into the air in a "Why-do-I-even-bother" sort of way.

As soon as she left the room, May gave a large sigh of relief. Her eyes suddenly settled on a small notebook on the floor. She scooped it up and flipped through its pages, delighted to find not a single thing written in it. She hunted through all the drawers of the room for a pen, found one, and stooped down by Link's side. In the notebook, she wrote:

_THINGS THAT ARE WEIRD ABOUT LINK_

_1: He has a sword. A sword! Where in the world does a guy not only find a sword, but also become really great at using it?_

_2: He hates answering too many questions about himself; where he's from, things about his past, etc._

_3: He has a bunch of weird things; a leaf-tunic, a pointy hat, glowing (?) crystals, and again, a mucking __sword__._

_4: Who is __Zelda__?!_

She looked up from the list at Link again and frowned. "Who are _you_?" she asked.

Being asleep, however, he wouldn't answer this question either.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy New Years!<strong>

**Sincerely: the TriddKing**


	12. Chapter 9

_Rattle-rattle_.

On the spectrum of destruction, Rustoboro had the worst conditions May had yet seen. It was a city of stone, designed to be a symbol of architectural strength; but in the aftermath of disaster, it more resembled ancient ruins rather than the bustling metropolis it once was. The lower, sturdier buildings were shaken, windowless, and many with one or two walls reduced to rubble, producing a rather interesting cross-section. But the taller buildings that had caught more of the explosion were practically nonexistent, save for a few remaining pillars and broken walls at their base. The Silph Company building, for example, laid toppled over, bricks and stone strewn about like children's building blocks.

The air itself even seemed broken; at some points, it was eerily silent, and at others, the warped moans and shrieks of people could be heard. The people – oh, sweet Arceus, the people. Broken and beaten like their buildings. The remaining buildings were almost entirely being reconstituted as hospitals and shelters, one of which May had the honor of entering herself. The people she had seen in there…and so, with due respect, she had elected to stay outside while Richard got Link.

In the silence of the abandoned roads, she was beginning to have second thoughts.

She bit her lip and tried to remain calm. But the atmosphere seemed to be effecting her mind; the echoing wind, the clatter of a stone succumbing to gravity, and that odd buzzing-rattling noise she had faintly heard not too long ago.

_Stay calm_, she told herself.

_Rattle-rattle._

Her blood turned cold. The sound again. _Stay calm_, she repeated.

_Rattle-rattle-rattle_.

Her inner biologist immediately recognized the sound. But her inner teenaged girl quite stubbornly insisted that she was hearing things. "Stay calm," she hissed.

_Rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle_.

_Screw calm_.

Slowly, she turned around and resisted the urge to scream. Ninjask. A swarm of Ninjask. Not even nearly as massive as the swarm of Beautifly and Dustox she had seen earlier. But still, it was a swarm of Ninjask.

She was really beginning to have second thoughts.

Ninjask are very peculiar Bug Pokémon. For one thing, they're incredibly quick. For another, many consider these particular Pokémon to be demented, mostly because of their carnivorous diet and rather swift and morbid hunting style of surrounding their prey entirely before even letting one of their members to be seen.

So, May reasoned, if she was seeing a large number of Ninjask here, which either meant that a) she was seeing the entire swarm, which was getting desperate for food, or that b) the large swarm she was seeing was only the smaller part of an even larger swarm.

There was a loud thrill from all around her confirming which of these theories was true.

The sun was blotted out by a sudden wave of vibrating wings and glossy exoskeletons. May shrieked and tried to run for the entrance of the hospital, but claws hooked around her ankles and tripped her. She screamed as segmented limbs crawled across her body and as Ninjask pinned down her arms and legs. One large Ninjask clawed its way up to her face and glared into her eyes. With movement so quick she never saw it, the Ninjask flicked its claw into the air, and seemed to deliberately hold it high for a moment's pause, the glint of sunlight reflecting off of the pointed tip at its end.

_This is it,_ she thought to herself. _This is how I die_. She closed her eyes made a silent prayer to…somebody. Anybody. She was never a very devoted Arceist, but if He was listening, she sent a prayer to him as well.

_Dad, Mom: I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'll never get to speak to you again, and I'm sorry that I brought this onto myself. I love you both so much._

_Mr. and Mrs. Yuki: thank you for being such amazing neighbors and friends._

_Link: …Whatever you're looking for, I hope you find it._

_And Brendan…oh, Brendan…_

_Oh sweet Arceus, someone please help me!_

Then everything turned blue. Not black, as one would associate with death, but brilliant blue.

* * *

><p>"You're ready then?"<p>

Link gave one last look at himself in the mirror, examining himself at different angles. Finally, he nodded.

Richard opened the door and let him through. "Let's go."

Link blinked as long-absent sunlight rushed for his eyes. He was finally free. How long had he been stuck in that building? Richard had said it was only a day or two, but it felt as though it may as well been months. But now, he was free. Free to do the task at hand.

So why wasn't he running? Every fiber in his body was screaming, 'Go. Go forth and seek them.' It was his in nature, it had been for almost ten years. But now…

He thought of two reasons off the top of his head. This was a different land. How could he run off without knowing where he would go? This was, at first, sound reasoning…but that never stopped him before. He could run and eventually wind up in the right spot.

That left the other reason, but the problem was that the other reason couldn't be described. What he could tell was that it was to do with Richard and May. But to what degree, he couldn't tell. It was…it was like his various connections to his allies back home. It was a brotherhood; it was a bond of friends. It was…so…

He threw his hands into the air. Damn it all, it was too hard to describe. He looked back to Richard, who was watching him with curiosity. "Are you alright?" Richard asked slowly.

Link quickly nodded. However, Richard frowned and motioned for Link to take a seat on the concrete step outside of the building. When he did, with Richard joining him, Link asked a question that had been on his mind for a while now.

"What happened here?"

Richard looked at him with a mixture of surprise and confusion. "What do you mean, 'What happened'?"

Link thought for a moment and reworded his question. "I have heard you and May talk about an explosion. That everything was broken; and the closer we get to 'it', the worse things get."

Richard continued to stare at him with the same look. "Son, did you just crawl out from under a rock or something?"

"Was there a war?" Link asked, choosing to ignore the tone of Richard's question.

"No, it wasn't a war," Richard said. He paused, and then asked, "Now, I'm assuming that you have no idea of Hoenn's geography."

Link bit his lip and averted his eyes. Was he really that obvious?

"I'll take that as a yes, then. Now…in the center of Hoenn," Richard continued, drawing a circle in the air and pointing to a spot in the middle of it, "There's a volcano called Mt. Chimney."

Though Link tried to hide it, that last piece of information got his attention. A volcano. Of course. As he quickly smothered any look of interest in the volcano, Richard continued.

"Now…also, for three days, all the Pokémon on this island had been acting strangely. We should have taken that as a hint, but, too late, the volcano erupted."

Now that sounded very familiar to Link. As he looked around as the devastation, Richard said, "To be fair, explosion would have been a better word for what happened. That's why May and I were leaving. I'm a professor, and May…is acting as my assistant. We're going to Mt. Chimney to try and figure out what had happened.

"Which brings me to my question, Link," Richard continued. "Why are you coming along with us?"

Link sighed and shrugged, demonstrating his inability to answer. "But I must get to the volcano," he clarified.

"But I thought you had no idea about Hoenn's geography." It wasn't really a question, but more of a statement of fact. Link paused and tried to smooth over his slip-up.

"I do not."

"Then why do you need to go somewhere you've never heard of before?"

"I can't tell you," Link groaned with exasperation.

"Can't or won't, Link?" Richard asked. When Link wouldn't respond, Richard tried a different tactic. "Does this have to do with Hyrule?"

"…"

"Or Zelda?"

Link immediately looked up. "How…"

"You talk in your sleep, Link. Does either-"

"Please," Link begged, desperate for this talk to end, "If you help me to the volcano, I'll go away, I will not bother you again!"

"Why do you need to go to the volcano, Link?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it matters!" Richard finally said, raising his voice. "It matters that both May and I are both worried about you! So tell me _why you need to go to the volcano_?!"

Link looked at him straight in the eye. "Because I have to," he said.

Disappointed, Richard stood up growling, stepped forward to the car, and nearly tripped over a body lying down on the street.

"What in –" Richard began before he recognized her as his daughter. He immediately kneeled down. "May! May, are you alright!?"

May didn't respond. Link rushed forward to get a closer look. May wasn't awake, and she certainly looked worse for wear. Dark rings had formed under her eyes, and she…odd as it may sound, she smelled funny. She had a strange, metallic smell to her, and though it took him a moment, he recognized what it was. It was impossible, considering where he was…but it was undoubtedly the smell of magic.

"Open her mouth," Link ordered as he reached inside his tunic.

Richard looked up to stare at him. "Wait…what?!"

"I know what this is!" Link explained as he pulled out what he was looking for: a tiny vial of green liquid he had prepared before he came to this strange world. He bit off the cork and poured it out in a thin trickle through her lips, ignoring Richard's cry of objection.

For a terrible moment, nothing happened. Then May shuddered and coughed. Then she sat upright and screamed, "NINJASK! HOLY SHIT, NINJASK EVERYWHERE!"

After Richard frantically calmed her down, she looked around. "What happened?" she managed to mutter. "I was waiting for you two…then…" She shuddered and refused to say anymore. Finally, the three of them shambled into the car, anxious to put this beaten city behind them.

They drove around the destruction of the city, but as they reached what might have once been a forest, Richard stopped the car.

"Dad, is something wrong?" May asked from the backseat.

Richard only groaned and stepped out of the car, both Link and May following his example. Once out, they understood the problem immediately. So close to Mt. Chimney, the forest had been knocked down like rows of toothpicks. Ash carpeted the ground and wafted down from the air. But more importantly…

"There's no more road," Richard sighed.

Undeterred, Link pulled his sword out from the car, and slid it into its sheath. Richard looked over to him with curiosity. "And what are you doing?" he asked.

Link looked to him and May, and then pointed towards the desolation before them. "We walk from here," he said simply. With that, he began to trudge through the desolation before them, the others reluctantly following his lead.

* * *

><p>"<em>Should we tell her about this development?"<em>

"…_No. We will keep this between ourselves. From a personal viewpoint, this makes things all the more interesting. If we tell her, she'll interfere."_

"_But – you're right, of course. But what will this lead to? This is far beyond what we had anticipated."_

"_I do not know. Let the cards fall where they may; after all, this may help her in the end."_


End file.
